Improvement in coal-mining apparatus



coalcan be `the blast, both from above 'UNITED STATES n.. -H. LAMBonN, onALrooNA, PENNSYLVANIA.

' yliviranvlaiinENT* IN f coAL-MjlNiNe APPARATUS,

. Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 42,669, dated May 10, 1364-.

.To all whom it may concern.- e I Be it known that I, R. HLLAMBoaN', of Altoona, in the county of Blair and State of Pennsylvania, ha\ 'e invented a new andfuseful Coal-Mining Apparatus; yand I do hereby declare'the following to be a full and correct 1 'description ofthesame,y reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which-fy, Figure 1 is atop view of myimprovedma` chinery or apparatus, andFig, 2 is a front elevation 'ofthe saine. f

The same 'part is indicated vthe samele't- Vter of'reference wherever it occurs.

Thenature of this invention consistsin the construction vand arrangement of ya new and useful apparatus'for performingby machinery ihatpart of the operation of mining co'alwhich is called by miners bearing'in, and whichis now performedby hand 'with a pick, the Vsaid apparatus consisting of a sectional track,` a seltmoving truck or foar, supporting a steam or compressed-airengine, operating chisels or picks of any suitablekind. The coal to be mined usually lies upon a stratum of slate, which forms the door of the' mine, and is covered by a similarstratnm, which forms the 1n order to obtain aspace into which the forced by blasting, vitis necessary to cut in the face of the coal, about midway of its height, a wedgeshaped horizontal channel, toward whichthecoal is to be'kdriven by and below. The operation of cutting this channel iscalled bearing in]7 and to perform 'this' operation b yrneansot tools -driven by power is the ob- To enable others `to make use of my apparatus,`I' will now proceed to describe its construction and mode of operation, referring to the drawings, wherein is represented a steam or air engine placedupou a self-moviugtruck, and prepared for operating mining-tools or chisels of various kinds.

A marks one section of the track on which the truck moves. This track is made in sections, so that when the truck reaches the end of one sectionand passes on to a second one the first section can be taken u p and laid .in front of the second, and so a continuous track be provided for the advance ofthe apparatus as its work progresses. One side of this track is provided with a rack, H, which engages with teeth attached tothe inner side of one ot' the'wheels, B', of the truck C. The other wheels, B, of' the truck are similar tothe ordinary railwayear wheels,`and are controlled by brakes m, operated by the treadl'e 1 or in any other convenient manner.v lUponthese wheels is supported the body of the truck C, which carriesthe engine ifor' operatingr the mining-tools. The engine is driven either Iby steam 'or by 'compressedaia and in either case'the 'operating-duid is conveyed tothe engine through suitable tubing, the engine which supplies the steam or 'ee'cts' the compressionot' the'air being located at the mouth ofthemine."l d The engine is similar in gencralfconstruction to the common high-pressure engine. "It has a cylinder, D, in which apiston is caused to reciprocate, in the usual manner, by 'means of steam or compressed air' admitted, into valve-chests FF, controlled by-fslide-valves of the ordinary'constrnction n VE marks the piston-rod, to the forward end of whichjs'to be attached the chisel G or otherv snitable'tool, by which the work of channel-L ing is tobe done. The rear end of the piston' rod is attached to a cross-head, L, which works on guide-rods M and the' valve-rod L As 'the Across-'head reciprocates it comes in contact 'with theY stops'e and f on lthe valverod i, and thus regulates the action of the valves, and consequently the-strokeof the piston, and of 'the ytool attached thereto; The

stops candf are xed at any desiredposition ony the rod'I by means of Y"eetscrews. The rod I operates the bell-crank lever yK, the lower arm of which `works theratchetwhe'el h, which. is also engaged by spring dog ri', attached tothe fra-me ofthe truck." To thcouter end ot' the shaft b of this wheel is attached the cogged'pinion g,which-gears into and drives the cog-wheel B', by the'rota-tion yof whichthe truck is advanced along the track.

The position and movements of the valve-rod 1 can be controlled, when desired, by the forked hand-lever j, which receives and holds said rod, and is hinged at c to the frame of the truck. This lever is to be workedby hand whenever it is desirable to move the piston back when it shall have stopped inthe midst of a stroke, or to place 4the piston in any desired position.

The piston, piston-rod, pistonhead, and

of pinion g,

cross-head together, constitute the weight, which, being urged forward by the propellingpower, acquires momentum sutcient to cut into. the coal. The force ot` this momentum is seconded by the' direct action ot the steam or compressed air, so that the action of the tool combines the percussive ei'ect of a drill with the continuous operation of a mortising-chisel.

'lhe piston-rod is'made to rotate, asfar as may .be desired, at every-stroke'by any of the usual devices employed for rotating' rock" drills.

N marks the steam inlet-pipe, of which the 4 branch 0 leads to the forward and P to the rear endv ot' the cylinder.

A cock', c, gives control over the. supply of steam tothe forward end of the cylinder, since it is not necessary to employ the full force of the air or Vsteam to bring back the chisel, afterit has struck its blow.

Q marks the exhaust, to which aexible tube may be attached,in orderthat the exhaust air may be so directed as to 4blow out the chips, behind the chisel, and also contribute to the ventilation of the mine.

It will be observed that the cylinder D is placed upon tlie truck at an angle, so that the,

chisel shall not strike a blow directly perpendicular to the face of the coal, but strike at an inclination ot' about ten degrees.

.The operation of the apparatus is as follows Thel sectional track is laid down upon the door of the mine and firmly jacked from the roof against the floor. The truck C is placedunonthe track, and the piston oi' the cylinder -D set in motion'by the admission of the compressed air or steam, conducted from the engine at the mouth of the'mine. .The chisel or other ltool at the end of the pistonrod is driven againstaud into the face oi' the coal, and begins the cutting of thechannel before alluded f to. As the piston reciprocates it causes the lever K, whose fnlcrum is at fn, to

vibrate, anddrive the ratchet-wheel h, the

dog d preventing the motion of the wheelh f rom being reversed. The wheel h, by means drives the cogged wheel B', ,whichV works into the rack H, and causes the truck to advance a short distance at every stroke-of the piston. Thus the apparatus is moved for ward automatically along the face of the coal, cutting as it goes.

It will be observed that the machine is moved forward only at vthe moment that the and thus clear away the channel chisel is drawn back it is'cutting.

The direction in which the machine advances is indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1.

The chips made by the operationare blown from the channel by the'exhaust, which is conveyed by a pipe and projected into the'cut in the coa-l. A Y i v i The operator -.who )attends the machine stands on the truck, and regulates its operation, turning on air or steam when required to drive the chisel, and governing, by means of cock 0,' the amount-that shall ow into the forward end-of the cylinder. He is also enabled, by means of the lever j, connected with the valve-rods, to regulate the force of the blow and the length of stroke, and,by the wheel h, to control the advance of the truck. When the truck approaches the front end of the section of track on which it is moving, a second section is laid down in advance of it, and secured as before described, so that the .progress of the machine `shall be continuous.

Having thus fully described my invention, what 1 claim therein as new, and forming an improved apparatus forcoalmining, and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent, is-

1. The arrangement and combination of the cylinder D withl the truck C in such a. manner as to give the piston-rod E .(to the end of Whichthe chisel is attached).an angle with the face of the coal, the force of the blow given by said piston-rod being regulated by the connection of said rod with cross-head L, valve-rod I, and adjustable stops e f, as set forth. l l

2. In combination with the foregoing, the sectional tracks, constructed, secured, and employed as and for the purpose herein specified.

3. The combination of wheel h, pinion g, and cog-wheel B' with the sectional tracks constructed, as herein described, to give thenceessary forward movement to the truck by their connection with valve-rod I andlever K.

4. The employment, in an apparatus such as o utuof the channel that the channel clear of chips and dust in the manner described. i

The above specitication ot' my said invention signed and witnessed, at Altoona, this 8th day ot' December, A. D. 1863. v

n. H. LAMoRN. Witnesses:

' J. K. ELY,

JOHN W. Humans.`

described, ofthe exhaust air or steam to keep i 

